And We're Back!

What's that you say? You didn't notice we were gone? Well, whether you noticed it or not, it's the truth. We left on Saturday for what is quickly becoming an annual summer trip to Saugatuck, Michigan.

We had a lovely, relaxing trip. We arrived around 3:00 on Saturday and checked into our cottage. Then the girls rode their bikes into downtown Saugatuck (which was honestly sort of a hazard given how crowded the sidewalks were), where we played at the park, then headed over to grab some sandwiches and, of course, ice cream. Neither girl had really napped in the car, so we had an early bedtime. The cabin had trundle beds for the girls, and Sadie slept in a big girl bed for the first time without incident. Ella enjoyed sharing a room with Sadie so much that she now wants Sadie to move into her room. It's something we've discussed in passing since Ella is outgrowing the toddler bed, and we've sort of been mulling the idea of bunk beds. On the other hand, it makes the money we shelled out to build a room for Sadie something of a waste (though I suppose we could make her room a play room). In the end, it's probably easiest if they remain in separate rooms, and my parenting philosophy is always to stick with what's easiest for us.

Anyhow, back to Michigan. Sunday was a beautiful day. We put the girls on our bikes and took a short ride to the local chain ferry. The chain ferry is actually cranked along on a chain, which is pretty neat. It's one of only a few remaining chain ferries in the country. For $4 (one way), we were able to take a quick trip across the river, then bike up to the famed Oval Beach (voted one of the best freshwater beaches in the country). The ride to Oval Beach is nearly straight up hill, which was no small feat for me with Sadie on the back of my bike--not t0 mention that I'd run 8 miles on Saturday, and my legs were DEAD.

We had a lovely time at the beach. Ella is a little fish, and so she jumped right into the 67-degree water without a backward glance. Sadie wasn't too interested in swimming in the lake (she later told us it was too rocky), but as is most often the case with Sadie, she was happy to go with the flow and just play in the sand. Eventually, after heading back to the cabin for lunch and a nap, we took another trip to the beach--this time heading to the beach in Douglas. Then we headed home for a lovely BBQ dinner. Another perfect day.

Monday dawned rainy, which was a major bummer since we were only there for a limited time. However, by luck I had happened to pick up a brochure for this bouncy castle placein Holland, so we headed over there for toddler time. It's very similar to Pump It Up, only all the inflatibles are shaped like animals. They had some pretty high, fast slides, and we all enjoyed climbing and jumping and sliding until toddler time was over. By then, the sun was out again, so we were able to hit Oval Beach a second time after nap. This time the water was rough and wavy, and Ella wasn't as eager to swim (which is okay because the undertow was strong). We had popsicles at the snack bar and climbed a giant sand dune (this was Ella's idea and she would not be persuaded otherwise). Sadie spent a solid half-hour on the swings. Eventually we headed home and got cleaned up for dinner out with our two perfectly behaved children, followed by ice cream, a ride on a coin-operated pony, and a stroll along the marina.

On Tuesday, we headed downtown so the girls could purchase souvenirs, then we went for a ride on the Duck boats. We all enjoyed that thoroughly, but you'll have to take my word for it since I left the camera in the car. After the boat ride, Dean took the girls to the park so I could do some shopping. Then we had lunch at a restaurant (where the girls were once again well-behaved), went for one last coin-operated ride, got one last ice-cream cone, and headed home.

Poor Sadie must not have realized that we were actually heading to our real home, because when we arrived, she broke into hysterical sobs and said, "I thought we were going to our new house." Oh dear.

Now we are back reality again, dealing with three weeks of cobbled-together nanny care (since our summer nanny had to start her teaching job early), followed by the stress of starting school/daycare and figuring out how we're going to get everyone where they need to go and still get to work on time. I wish there was some way to preserve the unrushed and unstressed sensation of being on vacation, but I can never seem to manage it. Once we're inside the door of our house, it's back to laundry and work and tantrums and worrying about Ella's insane behavior. Sigh. I'm beginning to think more and more that this working mom business is an impossible task.

In any case, that's a story for another day. In the meantime, photos are here.